Registration Instructions
- Choosing a First Year Course
- Planning the Rest of Your Schedule
- Putting It All Together
- What Happens Next
- Final Steps
STEP 1………Read through all the course descriptions.
STEP 2………Think about whether you like the sound of the residential component (see section
entitled “First Year Course Graduation Requirement”).
STEP 3………Select the four courses that suit your interests and learning style. We’ll do our
best to place you in your top choice, BUT you should be prepared to be in any one of the four courses you list.
STEP 4………List your four First Year Course choices in the first four lines of the registration
form.
Planning The Rest of Your Schedule
STEP 1………Read the departmental information found in this section of the orientation website. Questions about courses? Contact the faculty member listed.
STEP 2………Look at the Fall Class Schedule on the Registrar’s web page at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar to see what courses are available. Course descriptions can be found in the on-line catalog at http://macalester.edu/academic/catalog/ap5. Note the times and days classes meet.
STEP 3………Make a list of the courses that you might want to take.
STEP 4………Be sure to add labs for courses that require them – labs are listed after the course in the schedule (e.g., FREN X L).
STEP 5………Map out a few sample schedules
STEP 6………Think about it.
STEP 7………Change your mind if you want to.
STEP 8………Decide on the courses you’d like best.
STEP 9………Make a list of lots of alternative courses.
STEP 10………Fill in the rest of the registration form and submit it by June 26.
STEP 1………Print out and complete the Consent to Release Academic Information form and mail it to Academic Programs Office, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.
STEP 2………Fill in the Address Information Form and submit it electronically.
STEP 3………Remember, processing begins on June 26
If you are unable to submit your forms on-line, please print them out, fill them in and mail them to:
Academic Programs Office
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
As we cannot be responsible for forms that are sent but for whatever reason do not actually arrive at Macalester, it is in your best interest to confirm that your forms have been received. We are happy to check on this for you. Please call either the Academic Programs Office at 651-696-6036 or the Registrar’s Office at 651-696-6200, or contact us via e-mail, academicprograms@macalester.edu, if you wish to confirm that your forms have been received.
We also suggest that you keep a copy of your registration form or a list of the courses you selected in case we don’t receive it and you need to resubmit it.
We will begin processing forms on June 26, placing students whose forms are in on or before that day. We’ll do our best to get you into the courses that are your top choices, but there may be instances where demand exceeds available spaces.
If your registration forms arrive after June 26, they’ll be processed on a first come, first serve basis, but we cannot guarantee placement in a top choice for late forms.
You should know that we will NOT put you in four courses from one division.
In late July we will write to let you know the First Year Course in which you have been placed. Placement in your First Year Course is FINAL. No changes will be made so please be sure that you are happy with all four of your First Year Course choices. In August, we’ll be working on scheduling the rest of your courses. You will receive a copy of your complete schedule during Orientation, when you meet with your adviser. Please be advised that if you see your course schedule on 1600 Grand at any time during the summer, it is NOT final. Changes may be made to your other three courses prior to your arrival at Macalester.
The courses you choose now will most likely be what you actually take in the fall. Some changes may be necessary (because of results of placement test, for example) and those can be accomplished with your adviser’s help during Orientation. There is also a drop/add period at the beginning of each semester during which you can change your schedule.
FIRST YEAR COURSE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT
(Courses that Meet the First Year Course Graduation Requirement)
Following are the course descriptions for the 32 courses which you can take to satisfy your First Year Course requirement. All First Year Courses are limited to 16 students, and the teacher becomes the academic adviser for the students in that class. These courses are offered for credit in a particular department and, therefore, may be used for distribution requirements or major requirements. All First Year Courses earn 4 credit hours. Writing instruction is a critical component of the First Year Courses regardless of the specific topic of the course. Many of the courses will have a student writing assistant available to help students with their written work.
You should choose a First Year Course based on your interest in the material to be covered in the course; it is not essential that you choose a course from a department in which you may eventually major.
The role of your academic adviser during your first year at Macalester is primarily to assist you with your adjustment to college and to help you identify your personal and career goals. Advisers help you to integrate your academic and social interests and help you learn what is expected of you at Macalester. In your First Year Course it is our hope that you and the other students will develop a sense of community. One student commented that “the First Year Course is a wonderful idea. My first year would have been a lot more difficult without it.” Another said: “The course formed a base point for me. I made some of my best friends there.”
One way in which this goal of developing a sense of community is enhanced is through the living arrangements planned for some of the courses. Next to some courses you will see the symbol 
. This symbol indicates that the students in that class will be housed together on a particular floor in a residence hall. In most cases students will have a roommate who is also in the class.
Macalester’s residence halls include both co-ed and single-sex floors. At the end of the course description for each of these residential courses is a statement describing the type of residence hall in which the students placed in that course will live. All residential courses will be housed on combustion-free floors, which means that there can be no smoking and no burning of any substance including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, incense, and scented candles or the use of halogen lamps.
Please note that if you select a residential course, your placement in that course will override information you provided on your housing preference card regarding your preferred living arrangement. For example, if you indicate on your housing card that you prefer a co-ed environment, yet you select a first year course located on single-sex floors, your placement in this first year course will override your earlier statement about preferring co-ed floors. We will still refer to your housing preference card when matching you with a roommate.
Each student must be enrolled in one of these First Year Courses. You will choose your other three courses for your first semester from the Fall Semester 2009 Class Schedule at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/schedule-fall09
- Read all the material contained in this section.
- Fill in your 4 First Year Course choices in the first 4 lines of the Registration Form.
- Fill in your course choices on the Registration Form.
- Hit the SUBMIT button.
- Complete the Address Information form and hit the SUBMIT button.
- Complete the Consent to Release Academic Information form, print out a hard copy of
the form and mail the form to Academic Programs Office, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.
We are happy to answer your questions and look forward to meeting you in August!
PHONE NUMBERS Academic Programs: 651-696-6036 Registrar’s Office: 651-696-6200 FAX NUMBER: 651-696-6600 e-mail: registrar@macalester.edu e-mail: academicprograms@macalester.edu |
INFORMATION LINKS http://www.macalester.edu/academicprograms http://www.macalester.edu/registrar http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/APIBInfo.html http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/GenEdReq |